Belongs within: Rhinotermitidae.
Coptotermes is a genus of drywood termites in which soldiers bear a large fontanelle opening near the front of the head. Workers forage underground, constructing roofed tunnels to move above the surface; a number of species represent economically significant pests.
Characters (Maiti 2006): Imago with head dark to dark brown, head and pronotum fairly densely and abdomen densely hairy. Head subround. Eyes of medium size. Ocelli either subround or elongately oval, either almost touching or slightly separated from eyes. Fontanelle minute, placed almost at middle of head. Mandibles each with an apical and three marginal teeth. Left with apical only slightly longer than first marginal and almost equal to or slightly shorter than or subequal to second and third marginal. Right with apical thinner and slightly shorter than second, first marginal rudimentary placed at anterior base of second, third smaller with long posterior margin, generally longer than molar plate. Postclypeus flat or weakly swollen with or without median line. Apical tibial spur formula 3:2:2. Wings generally moderate to densely hairy, all veins arising independently from scale. In fore wing, costa and subcosta merged, strongly chitinised, running along anterior margin. Radius thick and running parallel and close to costa and subcosta. Medial thin and with one to three branches distally, cubitus also weak and with six to thirteen branches to posterior margin. Hind wing as in fore wing except medial arising from radius just outside scale. Soldier with head light yellow to deep brown in colour, moderately to densely hair, pyriform to broadly oval. Eyes generally absent, eye spots at times visible. Ocelli absent. Fontanelle large with round to oval large opening placed far anteriorly. Mandibles sabre-shaped, gradually narrowing anteriorly and strongly to weakly hooked at apices, left with a few to maximum of four crenulations in basal half and with a large knob-like projection. Right with a few basal crenulations also. Antennae with 13–17 segments, 3–4 variable in shape and size. Postmentum long and club-shaped with distinct widest and narrowest width, sometimes with hairs anteriorly. Pronotum narrower than head, flat, sometimes a little raised on anterior margin, anterior margin with median notch and posterior margin with weak median emargination.
<==Coptotermes Wasmann 1896M06 (see below for synonymy)
|--C. sjostedti Holmgren 1911IVE07, M06 [incl. C. sjostedti var. modicaM06]
`--+--C. acinaciformis (Froggatt 1898)IVE07, M06 [=Termes acinaciformisM06, T. (Eutermes) acinaciformisM06]
| |--C. a. acinaciformisM06
| `--C. a. raffrayi Wasmann 1900 [=Termes (Coptotermes) raffrayi]M06
`--+--C. niger Snyder 1922IVE07, M06
`--C. testaceus (Linnaeus 1758)IVE07, M06 (see below for synonymy)
Coptotermes incertae sedis:
*C. gestroi (Wasmann 1896)M06 (see below for synonymy)
C. amanii (Sjöstedt 1911) (see below for synonymy)M06
C. amboinensis Kemner 1931M06
C. bannaensis Xia & He 1986 [=[=C. (Oligocrinitermes) bannaensis]XH86
C. beckeri Mathur & Chhotani 1969M06
C. bentongensis Krishna 1956M06 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) bentongensisXH86]
C. boetonensis Kemner 1934M06 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) boetonensisXH86]
C. brevisDAF07
C. brunneus Gay 1955M06
C. ceylonicus Holmgren 1911M06 [=C. (Oligocrinitermes) ceylonicusXH86]
C. changtaiensis Xia & He 1986 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) changtaiensis]XH86
C. chaoxianensis Huang & Li 1985 [=C. varicapitatus chaoxianensis, [=C. (Polycrinitermes) chaoxianensis]XH86
C. cochlearus Xia & He 1986 [=C. (Oligocrinitermes) cochlearus]XH86
C. communis Xia & He 1986 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) communis]XH86
C. crassus Snyder 1922M06
C. ‘crassus’ Ping 1985 non Snyder 1922M06
C. curvignathus Holmgren 1913M06 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) curvignathusXH86; incl. C. robustus Holmgren 1913M06]
C. cyclocoryphus Zhu et al. 1984 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) cyclocoryphus]XH86
C. dimorphus Xia & He 1986 [=C. (Oligocrinitermes) dimorphus]XH86
C. dobonicus Oshima 1914M06 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) dobonicusXH86]
C. dreghorni Hill 1942M06
C. elisae (Desneux 1905)M06 [=Termes (Coptotermes) elisaeM06; incl. C. hyaloapex Holmgren 1911M06, H42]
C. emersoni Ahmad 1953M06
C. eucalyptus Ping 1984 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) eucalyptus]XH86
C. formosanus Shiraki 1909XH86 (see below for synonymy)
C. gaurii Roonwal & Krishna 1956 [incl. C. exignus Jepson 1930, C. exiguus]M06
C. grandiceps Snyder 1925 [incl. C. froggatti Light & Davis 1929, C. solomonensis Snyder 1925]M06
C. grandis Li & Huang 1985 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) grandis]XH86
C. guangdongensis Ping 1985M06
C. guanzhouensis Ping 1985M06
C. hainanensis Li & Tsai 1985 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) hainanensis]XH86
C. harrisiM06
C. heimi (Wasmann 1902) [=*Arrhinotermes heimi; incl. C. parvulus Holmgren 1913]M06
C. hekouensis Xia & He 1986 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) hekouensis]XH86
C. heteromorphus Ping 1985M06
C. intermedius Silvestri 1912 [incl. C. truncatus var. reducta Sjostedt 1926, C. reductus]M06
C. jiaxingensis Xia & He 1986 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) jiaxingensis]XH86
C. kalshoveni Kemner 1934M06
C. kishori Roonwal & Chhotani 1962M06
C. labiosus Hill 1926H42 [incl. C. flavus Hill 1926 non Bugnion & Popeff 1910M06, C. frenchi Hill 1932M06]
C. lacteus (Froggatt 1898) [=Termes lacteus; incl. C. sedulus Hill 1923]M06
C. longignathus Xia & He 1986 [=C. (Oligocrinitermes) longignathus]XH86
C. longistriatus Li & Huang 1985 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) longistriatus]XH86
C. menadoensis Oshima 1914M06
C. menglunensis Tsai & Huang 1985 [=C. monosetosus menglunensis, [=C. (Oligocrinitermes) menglunensis]XH86
C. michaelseni Silvestri 1909M06
C. minutissimus Kemner 1934M06
C. minutus Li & Huang 1985 [=C. varicapitatus minutus, C. (Polycrinitermes) minutus]XH86
C. monosetosus Tsai & Li 1985 [=C. (Oligocrinitermes) monosetosus]XH86
C. obiratus Hill 1927M06
C. obliquus Xia & He 1986 [=[=C. (Oligocrinitermes) obliquus]XH86
C. ochraceus Ping & Xu 1986M06
C. pamuae Snyder 1925M06
C. parradoxusM06
C. perigrenator Kemner 1943M06
C. premrasmii Ahmad 1965XH86, M06 [=C. (Oligocrinitermes) premrasmiiXH86]
C. priscus Emerson 1971P92
C. rectangularis Ping & Xu 1986M06
C. remotus Hill 1927M06
C. reticulatusM06
C. sepangensis Krishna 1956M06
C. shanghaiensis Xia & He 1986 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) shanghaiensis]XH86
C. sinabangensis Oshima 1923M06 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) sinabangensisXH86]
C. sucineus Emerson 1971P92
C. suzhouensis Xia & He 1986 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) suzhouensis]XH86
C. travians (Haviland 1898) [=Termes travians; incl. C. borneensis Oshima 1914]KB03
C. truncatus (Wasmann 1897) [=Termes (Coptotermes) truncatus, Eutermes truncatus]M06
C. varicapitatus Tsai & Li 1985 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) varicapitatus]XH86
C. vastator Light 1929M06 [=C. (Oligocrinitermes) vastatorXH86]
C. xiaoliangensis Ping 1984 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) xiaoliangensis]XH86
Coptotermes Wasmann 1896M06 [incl. Arrhinotermes Wasmann 1902M06, Oligocrinitermes Xia & He 1986 (n. n.)XH86, Polycrinitermes Xia & He 1986 (n. n.)XH86, Vastitermes Sjöstedt 1926M06; Coptotermitinae]
Coptotermes amanii (Sjöstedt 1911) [=Eutermes (Coptotermes) amanii; incl. C. sjostedti var. subintactae Silvestri 1914-1915]M06
Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki 1909XH86 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) formosanusXH86; incl. C. formosae Holmgren 1911M06, C. hongkonensis Oshima 1914M06, C. intrudens Oshima 1920M06]
*Coptotermes gestroi (Wasmann 1896)M06 [=Termes (*Coptotermes) gestroiM06, C. (Oligocrinitermes) gestroiXH86; incl. C. havilandi Holmgren 1911KB03, C. javanicus Kemner 1934M06, C. pacificus Light 1932M06]
Coptotermes testaceus (Linnaeus 1758)IVE07, M06 [=Hemerobius testaceusM06, Termes (Eutermes) testaceusM06; incl. Perla fusca De Geer 1778M06, T. (E.) marabitanus Hagen 1858M06, Coptotermes marabitanusM06, T. morio Fabricius 1793M06]
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[DAF07] Department of Agriculture and Food. 2007. Common Seasonal Pests. State of Western Australia.
[H42] Hill, G. F. 1942. Termites (Isoptera) from the Australian Region (including Australia, New Guinea and islands south of the Equator between 140°E. longitude and 170°W. longitude). Commonwealth of Australia Council for Scientific and Industrial Research: Melbourne.
[IVE07] Inward, D. J. G., A. P. Vogler & P. Eggleton. 2007. A comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of termites (Isoptera) illuminates key aspects of their evolutionary biology. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 44: 953–967.
[KB03] Kirton, L. G., & V. K. Brown. 2003. The taxonomic status of pest species of Coptotermes in southeast Asia: resolving the paradox in the pest status of the termites, Coptotermes gestroi, C. havilandi and C. travians (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae). Sociobiology 42 (1): 43–63.
[M06] Maiti, P. K. 2006. A taxonomic monograph on the world species of termites of the family Rhinotermitidae (Isoptera: Insecta). Memoirs of the Zoological Survey of India 20 (4): i–viii, 1–272.
[P92] Poinar, G. O., Jr. 1992. Life in Amber. Stanford University Press: Stanford.
[XH86] Xia K.-L. & He X.-S. 1986. Study on the genus Coptotermes from China (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae). Contr. Shanghai Inst. Entomol. 6: 157–182.